Teamsters decline to endorse Trump or Harris

The 1.3-million-member labor union broke three decades of precedent by choosing not to endorse a candidate

Teamsters President Sean O'Brien
Neither candidate made "serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business," said Teamsters President Sean O'Brien
(Image credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters broke three decades of precedent on Wednesday, announcing that the 1.3-million-member labor union would not endorse Kamala Harris or Donald Trump this election. Fourteen Teamster board members voted against endorsing, three wanted to endorse Harris and none favored backing Trump. But surveys the union released on Wednesday showed members backing Trump over Harris nearly two-to-one.

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.